By: Anders

Posted: Sep 14, 2006

If the speak goes of Axel Rudi Pell, people seems to get divided into 2 camps, those who loves him and those who hates him. I've always enjoyed great shredding, so I of course like most of the work from the German guitar-god! And especially with the line-up he has with him now, he has made some great and listenable albums, not that the music has developed a lot from the start, but who can deny the talents of vocalist Johnny Gioeli, bassist Volker Krawczak, keyboarder Ferdy Doernberg and drummer Mike Terrana?

When the first track 'Fly To The Moon' stops, it's clear that "Mystica" is classic Axel Rudi Pell metal. The first track offers killer guitar driven epic heavy metal, with the solid play from Pell and the awesome vocals from Gioeli. Gioeli one of my favourite vocals within this genre as we speak, he has such a powerful, clear yet emotional vocal, he pours passion and a great deal of rockstar attitude into the game and sings really well. The passionate and emotional side is used a good deal on this album, as half of the songs are of the calmer type, heading towards ballads.

The musicianship from all members of the band are amazing, all are of course well known musicians and have many years behind them in the game. Though that somehow makes it harder for them to deliver what we all expect, but I still become impressed of how Pell can fuse simple and catchy powerchords with out of this world solos and melody-lines, amazing and at times breathtaking. The bass is heavy and crunchy, the drumming is a laid back Terrana, as he has to fit his play to the music, a thing he does really well, without loosing his identity and Doernberg's keys are always hitting it on the right spot. A well played album, with some really well-written tunes on it.

"Mystica" shows Axel Rudi Pell and band from their best side, melodic epic heavy metal with great guitars and an impressive backbone and vocals beyond this world. This is all classic Pell, no insane progressive adventures or trips into the unknown, they know what they do best and do that to perfection, it is hard not to feel satisfied when having spent some time with this album.

Rating: 8/10

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